Badly washed or badly fixed film?

[babil]

Hello all,
after spending half a year in Indonesia and shooting some tons of film, I realized that some of the negatives have
yellow stains. (mostly on the edges, but some of them also on the photos). Only Delta films suffer from this problem,
older emulsions like Neopan 100ss and lucky are OK.

The fixer that I used there was called AciFix and it was in powder form. Unfortunately there was no indication about its ingredients
on the packaging. (just like the developer that I found there, "MicroMF")
I have to admit that my developing habbits there where everything else but consistent due to the varying chem temperature and quality of water.

Should I fix them again or only wash them? Some of them are over six months old. Is there any risk that the photos will slowly disappear?

Best regards
Vassilis

 

[Jim Noel]

I would try re-fixing them and then wash. It can't hurt, and it may help.

 

[kevs]

Hi Vassilis,

It sounds like under-fixing. New tech films like the Delta and T-Max ranges take longer to fix, so double your fixing times when using them. Also, make sure your fixer is fresh and strong, as even with older emulsions, you might not be removing all of the excess silver salts.

I've never tried re-fixing after such a long time. I'd suggest testing with an unimportant strip before treating the lot, just to make sure nothing untoward happens. You might also consider scanning or otherwise archiving your best images that are affected because unfixed emulsion will deteriorate eventually.

Best of luck with it.

 

[Don Dudenbostel]

I've had negatives yellow from inadequate fixing that took during my college days in the mid and late 60's. I figured i had little to loose so I refixed and washed them and discovered it stopped the deterioration. The yellowing is gone and they print great. Just fix as you would with new film and use a hypo eliminator and wash as directed.

 

[babil]

Thanks for the replies, I will refix them tonight to see what happens.

 

[yellowcat]

Yes refix and wash.
I have almost always used two bath fixing:
In Fixer bath 1, I fix for twice the clearing time, with constant agitation. For Fixer bath 2 I agitate continuously for half the total time in Fixer 1.

Typical fixing time in Fixer 1, when fresh, will be 2 minutes.

When Fixer bath 1 has fixed its maximum number of films(based on clearing time), discard it (or send it to silver recovery). Then the old Fixer 2 is the new Fixer 1 and you make up a new batch of Fixer 2.

This from The Manual of Photography (fifth edition):

>>>The fixing bath removes the residual silver halide by transforming it into complex sodium argentothiosulphates. These substances are not particularly stable and, after fixation, must be removed from the emulsion by washing. If left in the emulsion, they will in time break down to form an all-over yellowish-brown stain of silver sulphide.
In the presence of a high concentration of soluble silver, or low concentration of free thiosulphate, as when the fixing bath is nearing exhaustion, there is a tendency for the complex sodium argentothio-sulphates to be "adsorbed", or "mordanted", to the emulsion, in which condition they are difficult to remove by washing. Fixation in an exhausted bath is therefore attended by risk of subsequent staining, as a result of the breakdown of the silver complexes remaining in the emulsion, however efficient the washing process.
To avoid the danger of such staining, the best practice is to use two fixing baths in succession, according to the following procedure. Initially, two fresh baths are prepared and materials are left in the first bath until they are just clear, being then transferred to the second bath for an equal period. In the course of time, the clearing time in the first bath - which is doing practically all the work of fixation - will become inconveniently long. When clearing requires, say, double the time required in a fresh bath, the first bath should be discarded and replaced by the second, which, in turn, should be replaced by a completely fresh bath. This process is repeated as required, with the result that the second bath is always relatively fresh. Adoption of this procedure ensures that all films leave the second fixing bath in good condition from the point of view of subsequent permanence; as good in fact as if they had been fixed throughout in a fresh bath. The method is also economical, in that it enables all the fixer in turn to be worked to a point far beyond that at which a single bath would have to be discarded.<<<